Erasmo Antonio Moena Pinto (born January 10, 1970), known as The Psychopath of Placilla (Spanish: El psicópata de Placilla), is a Chilean murderer and suspected serial killer. Convicted and sentenced to 60 years imprisonment for a double murder committed in 2010, he remains a suspect in at least one additional murder in which he has been acquitted.
Erasmo Moena | |
|---|---|
 Mugshot of Erasmo Moena, taken by the Chilean Gendarmerie. | |
| Born | Erasmo Antonio Moena Pinto January 10, 1970 |
| Other names | "The Psychopath of Placilla" |
| Conviction(s) | Murder x2 Rape x3 |
| Criminal penalty | 60 years (murders) 541 days (robbery) |
| Details | |
| Victims | 2–3+ (murder) 6 (rape) |
Span of crimes | 1991–2010 |
| Country | Chile |
| State(s) | Ñuble, Valparaíso |
Date apprehended | For the final time on April 9, 2010 |
Early life
editErasmo Antonio Moena Pinto was born on January 10, 1970, in Tomé. According to his mother, María Elizabeth Pinto Villegas, he suffered no physical or mental abuse while growing up, but was a poor student who was treated as an outcast by his peers due to his macho and hypersexual attitude.[1]
Moena enrolled in the Margarita Naseau School in Tomé and later the San Pedro Nolasco School in Concepción, which he attended from 1983 to 1984.[1] During the second semester of 1984, he was found guilty of several robberies and was summarily expelled. The most notable part of his school life that at one point Moena had to be hospitalized for a week for cranial injuries, as he had thrown himself off a moving bus and hit his head against the pavement as part of a game played by him and his friends.[1] Reportedly, in his first and fourth year, he was classmates with future journalist and television presenter Julio César Rodríguez.[2]
After school, Moena enrolled at the Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María in Concepción, where he studied mechanical engineering, but lasted only one semester. Following this, he dedicated himself to trafficking porno films.[1]
Crimes and first murder
editIn 1990, the 20-year-old committed his first serious crime after robbing the "Provisiones Joaquín" warehouse in Múlchen.[1] He was ordered to serve 541 days in jail, but since it was his first offense, the punishment was remitted.[3]
Moena then moved to Coelemu, where he quickly became friends with 27-year-old hairdresser Marco Antonio Cortés, who soon moved in with him. A close friend of Cortés claimed that the two men were in an intimate relationship, but Moena has denied those claims.[4] On August 27, 1991, Moena murdered Cortés and, together with a group of friends, dismembered his body, set it on fire with gasoline and then threw the remains into the Itata River. He later admitted to the crime to a partner he had in Quirihue, who then turned him in to the police. Although Moena admitted to murdering Cortés, his remains were never found and he was thus acquitted of all charges, since a murder conviction in Chile is not valid without the body of the deceased. The motive for the murder remains unknown.
Rapes and double murder
editIn 2007, he raped a woman in Múlchen, for which he was sentenced to three years and one day imprisonment. Moena was released on March 14, 2010, but only four days later, he sexually assaulted a 10-year-old minor at a bus terminal in Los Ángeles. Six days later, he raped another woman and on March 25, he committed his final rape on a homeless woman living on the outskirts of the city. He was identified as the perpetrator of these crimes, and local authorities issued a warrant for his arrest on April 1.
On April 6, Moena posted a listing for a supposed job offer in the newspaper and received a reply from 36-year-old Loreto López Fernández, the daughter of retired gendarmes. Approximately six hours after killing her, Moena was contacted by a friend of López, 43-year-old Andrea Susana Quappe Pinto, who demanded to know where she was.[5] Moena lured her to a forest outside Viña del Mar, where he then smashed her head in with a rock.[1]
Investigation, arrest, and confessions
editAfter some time had passed, a cousin of López named Nelly Andrea San Martín Fernández contacted Moena under the pretense of being interested in his "job offer".[6] PDI investigators traced the phone call to Moena's identity card, and with San Martín's help, they organized a stake-out at a coffee shop near the bus terminal in Valparaíso, where the pair had agreed to meet up. When Moena arrived, he was swiftly detained and brought back to the police station. With no other option, he admitted to his crimes and indicated where they could find the bodies. On April 9, the two women's decomposing remains were finally recovered.[7]
Following Moena's arrest, investigators examined his belongings and found eight pairs of panties and a bra, presumed to be trophies collected from his victims.[8] In addition to this, they located a revolver and five cars, two of which were identified as belonging to López and Quappe, but the owners of the remaining three went unidentified. Due to this, some suspect that they might belong to additional, yet undiscovered, victims.[9]
Trial and imprisonment
editWhile his trial was underway, Justice Isabel Uribe ordered that Moena remain in solitary confinement and under constant surveillance while the investigation took place.[10] The investigation itself was headed by Rodrigo Hinzpeter, the contemporary Minister of the Interior and Public Security.[11]
Moena ultimately sentenced to 61 years and 176 days imprisonment; 60 years for the double murder and 541 days for illegal firearms ownership.[12] In addition, he is ineligible for any sort of prison benefits or release, meaning that he must serve his sentence in full and can be released at the earliest in 2071.[13]
Ever since his incarceration, Moena has refused to repent for his actions.[5] According to Dr. Ítalo Sigala Romele, a forensic psychiatrist at the Forensic Medical Service of Santiago, he was diagnosed as a narcissistic, sadistic and antisocial psychopath with very high intelligence and persuasion skills, which he used to lure in his victims.[2]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f "Erasmo Moena Pinto creció en Tomé: En colegios católicos garabateó sus primeras letras el sicópata de Placilla" [Erasmo Moena Pinto grew up in Tomé: Placilla's psychopath scribbled his first letters in Catholic schools]. Revistanos (in Spanish). May 24, 2010. Archived from the original on November 3, 2022.
- ^ a b "JC Rodríguez sorprendió al revelar cómo conoció al 'psicópata de Placilla'" [JC Rodríguez surprised by revealing how he met the 'Psychopath of Placilla']. El Tipógrafo (in Spanish). January 5, 2020. Archived from the original on November 3, 2022.
- ^ Daniela Astudillo (May 25, 2011). "Condenan a cadena perpetua sin beneficio a sicópata de Placilla" [The Psychopath of Placilla sentenced to life imprisonment without benefits]. La Tercera (in Spanish). Archived from the original on November 3, 2022.
- ^ ""Lo vamos a quemar y tirar al río": El horroroso crimen (sin condena) del Psicópata de Placilla" ["We are going to burn it and throw it into the river": The horrific crime (without conviction) of The Placilla Psychopath]. La Cuarta (in Spanish). May 26, 2021. Archived from the original on November 3, 2022.
- ^ a b "Psicópata de Placilla: "No creo en el arrepentimiento"" [Psychopath of Placilla: "I don't believe in repentance"]. Soy Valparaíso (in Spanish). May 25, 2016. Archived from the original on November 3, 2022.
- ^ "Familiares, amigos y vecinos despidieron a víctima de supuesto "sicópata de Placilla"" [Family, friends and neighbors buried victim of alleged "Placilla Psychopath"]. Radio Cooperativa (in Spanish). April 11, 2010. Archived from the original on November 3, 2022.
- ^ "Cuerpos de víctimas del homicida de Placilla fueron entregados a sus familias" [Bodies of victims of the Placilla murderer were handed over to their families]. Radio Cooperativa (in Spanish). April 9, 2010. Archived from the original on November 3, 2022.
- ^ Claudio Leiva Cortés (May 19, 2011). "Sicópata de Placilla guardaba calzones y sostenes como "trofeos"" [Placilla Psychopath kept panties and bras as "trophies"]. La Nación (in Spanish). Archived from the original on May 21, 2011.
- ^ "Detienen en Chile a un psicópata que asesinó dos mujeres tras salir de prisión" [They arrest a psychopath in Chile who murdered two women after leaving prison]. El Correo Gallego (in Spanish). April 9, 2010. Archived from the original on November 3, 2022.
- ^ "Formalizado por violación y homicidio el presunto estrangulador Erasmo Moena" [Formalized for rape and murder the alleged strangler Erasmo Moena]. El Mostrador (in Spanish). April 10, 2010. Archived from the original on November 3, 2022.
- ^ "Hinzpeter aseguró que encabezará investigación por libertad del supuesto "sicópata de Placilla"" [Hinzpeter assured that he will lead the investigation for the freedom of the alleged "Placilla psychopath"]. Radio Cooperativa (in Spanish). April 10, 2010.
- ^ "Justicia absuelve al sicópata de Placilla por violación en Mulchén" [Justice acquits Placilla's psychopath for rape in Mulchén]. El Mercurio (in Spanish). April 5, 2011. Archived from the original on November 3, 2022.
- ^ Andrea González (May 25, 2011). ""Psicópata de Placilla" es condenado a más de 60 años de prisión en Viña del Mar" ["Placilla Psychopath" is sentenced to more than 60 years in prison in Viña del Mar]. Bio Bio Chile (in Spanish). Archived from the original on November 3, 2022.